Season 03
Episode 01
Navigating Innovation & Design In Your Professional Practice
2 AVAILABLE TIMES
Limited To 16 Participants.
There are 7 seats left!
Your Presenters
Kevin Bethune

Kevin Bethune

Principal Futurist

dreams • design + life,

Jake Dunagan

Jake Dunagan

design futurist, social inventor, teacher

Institute for the Future & University of Texas, Austin

SuperSeminar S03/E01 features two leading figures in the fields of innovation and futures design: Kevin Bethune and Dr. Jake Dunagan. These two are seasoned practitioners with decades of experience to share with you. Each will bring to Seminar their unique, forward-thinking perspectives with presentations with plenty of time for engaging discussion.

What will we cover?

In a world where creative professionals are constantly navigating shifting landscapes, how do we stay ahead of the curve? How do we not only imagine but also shape the future of design, business, and innovation?

Innovation as a strategic practice
How to push beyond traditional frameworks to create designs that truly matter. Kevin, author of Reimagining Design, emphasizes how design offers far more than aesthetics—it’s a strategic problem-solving tool that can unlock innovation, guide multidisciplinary teamwork, and address the complex challenges faced by organizations today. Over his career he has navigated corporate America at his time at Westinghouse, Nike and as a sought-after consultant, demonstrating the transformative power of design in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within teams and leadership.

Futures design
Envisioning alternative futures and learning how to implement strategic foresight in your professional work. Jake has done pioneering work in experiential futures, helping creative professionals envision alternative futures and apply strategic foresight to their work, whether in organizations or individual practice. His expertise in governance design and alternative futures will help you understand how futures thinking can be a tool for creating actionable, positive change.

Human-centered approaches to design and foresight
How does a deep understanding of human needs reshape your professional and creative practices? Both Kevin and Jake emphasize the importance of using design not just for functional or aesthetic purposes, but as a means to address broader social and ecological challenges. Kevin's has real-world experience with integrating diversity and inclusion in design and understands how it can result in unexpected and remarkable outcomes. Jake has experiences he will share as to how futures work can be applied to remarkable effect in the contexts of governance, cities, and communities.

Professional practice for creative professionals
How nonlinear thinking and speculative approaches can unlock new avenues for growth and success. This Episode will give you an opportunity to gain insights into how design can act as a catalyst for innovation in complex systems. Both of your presenters are advocates for a more agile, multidisciplinary approach to teamwork and leadership, and throughout their careers have seen how design can open new pathways in professional practice by expanding beyond traditional boundaries of design.


Following each presentation, you’ll have the opportunity to engage directly with Kevin and Jake in a lively discussion that goes deep into the how, why, and what next of the ideas presented.

PRODUCED BY NEAR FUTURE LABORATORY EXCLUSIVELY FOR FORWARD-THINKING DECISION MAKERS, CREATIVE TEAM LEADERSHIP, EXECUTIVES RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL VISION AND THOSE WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO EFFECTIVELY AND THOUGHTFULLY OPERATIONALIZE A FUTURES-ORIENTED MINDSET.